GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Johnny Brann Jr. was walking through the mall one day recently, thinking idly about ways to integrate technology into a customer’s restaurant experience when he noticed that he was walking past the Apple Store.

Sensing the serendipity, "I shot inside and asked who was in charge,” said Brann, a third-generation restaurateur who has spent the past decade managing the Brann family’s Sizzling Steaks & Sports Grille location on Leonard Street.

Fast forward to this week, when the new Kitchen 67: Brann’s Café soft opens to the public on Wednesday ahead of a grand opening ribbon cutting Saturday.

The tech-heavy fast-casual restaurant marks a new direction for the Brann family, which opened their first of now 11 restaurant locations around West Michigan in 1960.

The name “Kitchen 67’ is a throwback reference to 1967, when Brann said his grandfather John Brann Sr. really started to find success with the family’s signature sizzler steak, selling upwards of 800 of the dinners on a Saturday night.

The new 4,600-square-foot location represents a $3 million investment, said Brann, who hopes the new restaurant will become a kind of innovative hub that draws people of all demographics into an establishment with unique food and atmosphere.

Customers who enter are greeted by an array of technology that includes tabletop iPads, wireless smartphone charging “pucks,” a wall-mounted iTunes DJ system that functions as a digital jukebox, a video conferencing table, and a Gentex glass video wall next to an on-display kitchen counter.

Courtesy PhotoThe Asian Ginger Wings at Brann's Kitchen 67.

Courtesy PhotoSeasoned fried at Brann's Kitchen 67.

Courtesy PhotoKitchen 67 S'mores dessert.

All this occurs under customizable High-Res LED ceiling tiles of the kind normally used as a concert backdrop, which allows for high-flying graphics or the ability to transition the dining room color scheme and mood as the sunlight wanes throughout the day.

The interior was designed by well-known Grand Rapids businessman Bob Israels. Jeff Parker was the site architect and the LiveSpace audio/visual team handled the technology component.

“This restaurant is like a mood ring,” said Brann. “We can adjust the atmosphere to whatever we want to create.”

And if you’re bored with all that while waiting for your food, there’s interior cross-access with the new concept Verizon Wireless store next door, where management is cool with patrons carrying-in sodas, but not alcohol, while you browse.

“It’s a place to network. It’s a hub — a place to come and leave smarter; to be productive.”

Oh, and it has food, too. Kitchen 67 features Brann staples such as the sizzler meat and steak burger, but tweaked for creativity, said Brann. For instance, you could have the sizzler meat in a pan-fried Asian noodle bowl, or in a wrap or sandwich.

For breakfast, Brann is hoping to draw morning commuters on the East Beltline Avenue NE with drive-thru K67 blend coffee and day-starters such as baked goods, oatmeal, yogurt and smoothies. The lunch and dinner menu features soups, salads, ribs, wings, meatballs, mac' and cheese; and desserts such as deep-fried brownie bites dipped in marshmallows and coated in a graham cracker crust, called, of course, s’mores.

For drinks, there’s a fountain soda Pepsi machine lit up by a projector, or a list of Michigan wines and craft beers from Bell's, Founders and Brewery Vivant. Sunday brunches will feature a Bloody Mary bar and mimosas.

Everything on the menu is priced under $10.

“The atmosphere is very important but we have to be able to follow that up with the same level of food and I think we’ve accomplished that,” said Brann, who said the restaurant is ordering quality ingredients from as many local sources as possible.

Kitchen 67 staffs 45 and seats 110 people plus 25 on the patio.

The restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and a breakfast skillet brunch will be served all day alongside the regular menu.

Kitchen 67 is located at 1977 East Beltline Ave. NE, near Knapp’s Corners Meijer. Check out their menu on the restaurant website and find out more on Facebook.